The Rescue
by SquishyGirl
Summary: She wakes up on cold hard ground. She looked around but to only be lost in the darkness. She struggled to a stand only to be halted by chains seemingly around her wrists, ankles and torso. She felt her skin, rough and bones protruding from her body. DMHGB
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  Will you rescue me?

Hermione awoke on cold hard ground. She looked around but to only be lost in the darkness. There was no light that she could tell and the dark was so thick as if it was solid. Panic rose inside her but she forced herself to remain calm. She blinked a few times trying to get used to her surroundings but to no avail, the darkness was impenetrable.

Slowly Hermione stood up with great difficulty. Every time she moved pain coursed through her legs and arms though her torso was perfectly unharmed. She started to feel around hoping not to touch anything nasty or disgusting and started to try and walk. It wasn't too bad but the pain was really starting to decrease her motivation.

As Hermione took another step her foot stopped mid-air as if someone had grabbed her foot and she tripped and landed flat on her face. She was chained. Hermione groaned and whined quietly to herself muttering things of 'why me?' or 'what did I do to deserve this?' She tried to stand again but found all her will power had vanished and so she remained completely still now welcoming the coolness from the ground which she assumed was concrete on her burning muscles.

She had a vague idea of where she was. It was rather obvious. The darkness, the solitude, she had to be somewhere she was unwelcome and she figured it was probably surrounded by Death Eaters. It was only fitting to her life story, she thought bitterly. Out of her two best friends Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley, it was her who was apparently caught and tortured she assumed having no capability to remember why or how she ended up where she was.

It bothered her that in every life story where there was someone or something threatening all man kind and someone was out to stop it; it was always the damsel in distress that lures the good guys to the bad guys' layer. It was so typical and highly predictable. Being a muggle-born Hermione had read quite a few books that went along something of these lines and couldn't help but feel that sometimes her life was just part of a fairy-tale story and didn't really exist. Sometimes that's what she wanted it to be.

Hermione felt herself drifting into unconsciousness as she fought to stay awake to regain her energy. However the more she tried to accomplish this the more all hope seemed to be disappearing.

Hermione finally gave in accepting the fact that she could very well die here, wherever she was. She felt terrible hungry and assumed it had been a few days since she had last eaten and was totally unaware of how long she had been here. Her skin felt cold and clammy and she assumed that she also hadn't seen any light, artificial or natural, for her time being where she was and she was starting to wonder if she had woken up before now and had simply not remembered it. Everything seemed so far away as her eye-lids started to feel heavy and fall. Will someone rescue me? She thought sadly. Finally submersing herself to wonderful relaxation her body was jerked awake.

0

Hermione opened her eyes and had to squint for there was light flooding the room compared to the utter blindness she felt where she was before now. She no longer felt the cold, uncomfortable stone beneath her but soft sheets and a comfortable mattress. Hermione closed her eyes again as her mind began to wander and wonder why her accommodations had changed so abruptly. Had she been saved? Was she back at Grimmauld Place or possibly at Ron's? She wasn't sure but she desperately tried to open her eyes again to find out but found her eyes fighting against her and again she drifted off into sleep again.

He watched her carefully and silently as he sat in his chair. She looked anorexic and incredibly pale. It was evident that she was not treated well. He stood up and walked around the room while observing her from all angles. She was turned on her side facing the door and was sleeping evenly and almost peacefully. The blankets were pushed down around her waist as it was a warm night. It was sickening for he could see her ribs move up and down as her lungs inhaled breath. He reached the other side of the room where her back was facing him when he noticed something in her skin. He moved forward slightly and squinted to see what it was in the dark.

On her neck in the center was a shooting star etched in her skin. It reminded him of the Dark Mark only her mark didn't move nor did he feel it symbolized anything of importance. He went to continue his pacing when he noticed another spot on her lower back as she moved in her sleep and her shirt moved up slightly. This time he moved up right beside the bed and lifted up the back of her shirt just enough so that he could see what it was hiding and he found another mark on her back. This one however moved and was tinted in green and looked very sinister. His eyes opened wide in shock and he quickly replaced her shirt and went back to his chair and continued to watch her silently.

Her body started to twitch and thrash at random and her eyes were clasped shut as if experiencing a terrible nightmare. He rose quickly and made to the side of her bed. Unsure of what to do he looked at her for a few moments taking in the sight before him. It was strange watching this for he had never really watched anyone sleep before and he had to admit that it was rather boring but this was interesting. Her arms were moving as if she was fighting off a hundred people at one time and her head was whipping from side to side as if she was dreaming two things at once.

He was snapped out of his trance when one of her hands smacked him in the face and he shook her awake. By this time it was practically dawn and a red light was starting to seep through the window. Her eyes opened but quickly shut again. She seemed to mentally sigh as she tried to open her eyes again but the next minute she was sleeping peacefully again not moving a muscle.

Slowly he walked over to the window and drew the curtains so that the light was blocked out and she could enjoy a few more moments of rest before he made sure she ate something. As he looked upon her he suddenly felt pity and a slight twinge of worry. It suddenly occurred to him that maybe she had been locked up for far too long. He quickly brushed off the thought and assured himself that his Hermione would survive and be healthy and vibrant and obsessed with books in no time at all.

He continued to sit in his chair and watch her until he knew he could no longer wait and grazed her cheek. Her eyes snapped open immediately and she stared at him for what seemed like hours before he propped up her pillows and lifted her up so she could lean against them. Food appeared before him and he started to feed it to her.

For a second she looked as if she was going to tell him off and say that she could eat perfectly fine by herself, she even made an attempt to lift her arm but in the end accepted the food silently while never taking her eyes off him as if afraid he was going to something sudden and frighten her.

She finished her food and the plate disappeared and he laid her back down on the bed and readjusted her pillows once more before she fell back asleep. Suddenly the door opened and he turned around to see who it was. He sighed in relaxation as he looked upon his friend with tired eyes.

They quickly nodded at each other as they switched places and his most trusted friend took his seat and he walked out the door and headed to his room. He opened the door and walked over to his bed. He was completely exhausted and didn't even bother to remove his shoes or robes and collapsed on his bed and fell asleep immediately.

0

Hermione once again felt someone stirring her awake and she cautiously opened her eyes. It was darker this time though she noticed the curtains were closed the last time as well. She passed it off as a darkening charm or something blissful like that and looked around for she was able to without the pain of so much light. It had been so long since she had apparently seen light that her eyes were refusing to readjust. She looked up and noticed that this time someone different was here. He had black hair, dark skin, and blue eyes. She smiled inwardly at this. She loved blue eyes.

He did the same thing as the man before him and propped up her pillows so that she could sit upright and eat the food that had appeared before her. She tried to lift her arm to eat independently this time but the man pushed her arm back down. She looked at him curiously tilting her head to one side as he sat down on the bed beside her and started feeding her the food.

As she ate hungrily as she noticed that both times she had been fed it had been either chicken or some sort of meat making her realize that she was being fed dinners and had been sleeping throughout breakfast, lunch, and midnight snack. She finished the food and the plates disappeared and he continued to stare at her. She wanted him desperately to put her back to a sleeping position not trusting her eyes to stay open much longer but he apparently had different plans.

He first pulled down the shoulder strap of the shirt she was wearing and brushed his fingers over the area. .Hermione had half the mind to smack him but realized she didn't have enough energy to eat so had no choice but to let him continue. He produced his wand out of nowhere and touched the tip of it to her shoulder. It went warm and then very cold and then back to normal again. He brushed his fingers over the area again and smiled in self-satisfactory before replacing the strap and setting her down in a sleeping position again.

"We have to heal you slowly or your body will be put into shock." He explained. Hermione wanted to ask what exactly was wrong with her but decided against it in case she couldn't speak. "Do you know who I am?" He asked. Hermione's concentration was slipping as her eyes began to feel heavy again and she wanted nothing more than to ignore him but slowly nodded her head. "Good." He said as he turned around and sat in a chair at the far end of the room. Suddenly the door opened and Hermione tried her hardest to focus on who it was but instead drifted into sleep.

Her days continued similar to these always sleeping, eating, having a section of her arms or legs healed and then she went back to sleep again. Apparently her brain was not registering signals from the rest of her body because she was supposed to be feeling a lot of pain…or that's what they said. Hermione figured that she had been in the pain so long that her body had gone numb and or her brain was sick of listening to her body and after having them explain to her just how much pain she was supposed to be in she didn't blame her brain either.

It appeared that many of her bones had popped out of place or had started in strange directions for the length of time her body had been collapsed on that hard ground. She was still unaware where she was but judging by her company she was in Malfoy Manor. It was really nicely decorated and very homey, Hermione thought idly one day as she had slowly became able to stay awake for more than a couple of minutes and now spent almost half her day looking around her room. Her room was furnished nicely with plush couches and foot stools. There was a desk in one of the corners and a small bookshelf containing what she assumed were texts for school, or research books maybe…

Suddenly the door opened and Hermione's head snapped in the direction of the door with great regret for now she had a pain in her neck and a tingly feeling going up the side of her neck and her tongue. There in the doorway stood Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini.

They made their way over to her and as Blaise brought down the duvet covering her body Draco lifted her into his arms. Hermione sighed tiredly as she rested her head on his chest as he took her from the room and out into the hallway. Over the days the boys had placed refreshment charms on her and changed her clothes with magic but dressed her cool clothes for she was normally warm. She was now dressed in a light blue tank top with white shorts. She let out a slight shiver as the temperature dropped severely from her room to the outside. This made Draco hold her tighter as he and Blaise walked down multiple hallways and turned many corners. Finally they arrived at a door that Blaise opened and Draco walked in and carefully set her down on her feet.

The room was painted a cream color and there were ledges on the wall that she immediately held on to so she could balance better. Draco noticed this immediately and held her to him instead. She was surprisingly alright with this for he was warm and she still had goose bumps. Hermione felt her eyes droop and fought desperately to keep them open. 

"Hermione, Blaise and I are going to help you walk for a little bit and then you can go back to sleep okay?" Hermione nodded her head while Blaise crossed to her other side and help support her. Hermione carefully and slowly stepped one foot forward but upon placing it on the ground her knee gave out and she thought she was going to fall to the ground but the boys caught her and kept her upright. She tried a few more times and managed to take a step when the boys said it was time to stop. She desperately wanted to ask them so many questions but she had yet to try and talk and didn't want to seem weak.

"H-h-" She cleared her throat. "How long have I b-been here?" Blaise who was now opening the door shot Draco a look. Hermione wondered what it meant but before she had time to figure it out Draco had picked her up again and Hermione relaxed blissfully into his chest.

"It's been about six months…including your time in the dungeons." Draco answered. So that's where I was! Hermione thought. Well she had figured something as much.

"Did you rescue me?" she whispered looking up at him. He looked down at her and nodded slightly before taking her back to her room and laying her on her bed as Blaise pulled the duvet back over her. She immediately fell asleep and Blaise left the room. Draco however stayed behind. He went to the other side of the bed and lay atop it and gazed at her sleeping form. He gentle played with her hair as he thought over her words.

"_Did you rescue me?"_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  Hurry up and Heal Already

Hermione awoke with a heavy weight draped around her abdomen and curiously looked down to find out the curious object. It was an arm. She followed the arm slowly to its owner. A man with blonde hair and a pointed face and beneath his eyelids, beautiful bluish-grey eyes; she really did love blue eyes.

She glanced at his hair; she had always wondered whether his hair really was baby soft. In the end she couldn't help but reach her arm up slowly (with a little difficulty, they hadn't worked with her arms yet) and brushed her hand through his hair. It was confirmed. Draco Malfoy had baby soft perfect blonde hair! Hermione smiled inwardly at her discovery but snapped her eyes back to Draco's when she felt him stir.

His eyes met hers and he simply stared at her for what seemed like hours. Although it was only about a minute it was evident enough to Draco that Hermione wasn't going to try and hurt him with the small amounts of energy she had started to possess. He slowly smiled at her and sat up withdrawing his arm from around her. He hadn't realized that he had fallen asleep but felt slightly satisfied when she didn't have a fit.

He snapped his fingers while never taking his eyes off her and food appeared in front of her. He lay on his stomach leaning on his one arm while he helped her eat a sandwich by guiding her hands as she started to move independently again. Her eyes hardly left his only at times when she was glancing at her food. She seemed mighty pleased that she was finally closer to eating without help again.

"Today we're going to take you walking again and then you can come back here again and sleep. OK?" Hermione stared at him. She wasn't sure if she was okay with it or not. She wasn't sure if she like being taken care of by Draco or Blaise for that moment but realized she didn't really have a choice. It wasn't like she was going to get miraculously saved by Ron and Harry as it had been six months. She wondered what had happened to them but decided to mention that later, she had more important things to ask.

"Why am I here?" Draco looked at her as if she had six heads before answering.

"Blaise and I are helping you get better so you can get back to your life." Hermione shook her head softly.

"No, why am I here? In Malfoy manor…why was I brought here in the first place?" Draco sighed and sat up properly again leaning against some pillows and stared down at Hermione. She was giving him the look. You know the look that says 'tell me now before I hex you'. Normally in this state considering Hermione didn't have her wand Draco would throw the situation right back in her face but he decided against it and figured that in such instance that honesty was his best course. He sighed again before beginning to speak.

"No idea." This definitely wasn't the answer Hermione was expecting. She was ready to hear him talk about his evil father kidnapping her or him working for Voldemort and _him_ kidnapping her but then having an epiphany and started to help her. Hermione was not pleased with this answer.

It took her a little more than two minutes to get her voice back and her thoughts back on track to glare and him and her lips to thin.

"What?"

"I said I have no idea." Draco said as if thinking that Hermione didn't hear him the first time.

"What do you _mean_ you have no idea? I am in your house, was in your dungeons and you are completely oblivious to this whole thing?!" Hermione said her voice slightly rising, though not much for she hadn't been talking much.

"Well…yeah. I mean my dad died a couple of months ago…when we got you out of the dungeons, the only reason I knew about it was because people from the Ministry came in and told me there was another human presence in the house, so I figured I'd check out the dungeons…" Hermione shook her head in disbelief. She began to wonder how much longer she would've been down there if Lucius Malfoy had never died. She wondered if she would have stayed there for the rest of her life until she died because no one knew she was there.

"What about Harry and Ron?" She couldn't hold back. There was no better time to ask and now she was desperate for information.

"Um…see actually that's the thing…no one has seen him in months. He's not dead," he said quickly from the look that sprung itself upon Hermione's graceful features. "But they still haven't seen him. A lot of people in the Order said there's a rumor that Dumbledore left him something to do and – "

"How do you know people in the Order?"

"Blaise and I have contacts there. There weren't many but a few people have given me a full pardon and I've actually been pretty useful for them lately." He said matter-of-factly.

Hermione just stared at him. Did he think that because he's been useful that it makes it all better? This was his house! She was sure he knew the real reason and it wasn't a pathetic coincidence that she was miraculously found in his dungeons.

"Bullshit." Draco sighed. See? She was right.

"Hermione please believe. I would never purposefully _physically_ hurt you." Oh what a nice little technicality there. So he knew that his mudblood bullying had upset her? How interesting.

"Can I go walking now?" Draco sighed again.

"Absolutely," He rose from the bed and helped her out on the other side. He picked her up easily, as if she were a feather and carried to the room she was in last time. Things were so clean in this house, it was eerie.

"Take it slowly ok? I don't want you to hurt yourself." Hermione rolled her eyes and let Draco half support her as she forced her legs to move a couple of centimeters. She didn't slip today and was able to stand completely by herself without help for more than five seconds. She was proud of herself.

"Who knew lying in a dungeon could make you stop walking and using your muscles properly." Hermione mused. Draco looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "What? Last thing I remember was it being ridiculously dark but I was definitely able to move."

Draco's face fell he seemed torn about something…did he feel guilty for leaving her in his dungeon? He must have known. Stupid liar he was.

"I wish I would've known sooner." He whispered.

…Or not.

"You mean you really didn't know?" Draco looked at her, the pain relevant in his eyes. Why did he even care? Why was he even trying to help her? Shouldn't he be killing her by now? Oh wait, that's right, he's the Order's bitch right now. The Order who left me in that stinking dungeon…

"I had no idea. I should've known, I was such an idiot. But I've found you now." He said smiling down at her as he carried her back to her room. He laid her on the bed softly and covered her with the blanket. Hermione sighed in content, it was warm.

"Draco…" He turned to look at her from the door, he was about to leave. "Can you stay…and talk to me, until I fall asleep?" Draco nodded and quickly made his way to her side. He lay on the bed with her, on top of the covers and began whispering to her immediately anything that came to his mind.

Hermione smiled softly as he listened. She inquired about the stuff he did for the Order and he had only too much to say about that.

"Well first it was stuff like sneaking around with the Dark Lord's plans, but they got Snape for that so now Blaise and I are stealing fragments of materials that the Dark Lord is using and they got people researching about what magic he's done to it and what he's using it for and such…"

It sounded like the Order wasn't giving up. That was good, especially with Harry and Ron apparently AWOL. She bet they were Horcrux hunting. It was the only reasonable explanation for why no one would be able to find them. No one was supposed to know about the Horcruxs. She wondered if Draco knew.

Well there could be no harm in asking him right?

"Draco?" She whispered. He slightly jolted. He had thought that she had drifted to sleep during his rant about the Order; she was so quiet and still…apparently not though.

"Hmmmm?" He hummed.

"Do you know what Horcruxs are?" There was a long pause; either he was racking his brains for a scrap of information that he might have read, or he was deciding whether he should tell her or not. She wished she could see his face so she would know the answer.

She was currently tucked closely into Draco's chest as he had miraculously been transported from on top of the covers to under them without either of them noticing. He now had his arm wrapped snuggly around her and was holding her as if he let go, she would run away. Hermione scoffed at the thought. Yeah right.

"No." He finally admitted. "But I have heard the term in conversation a couple of times…why?" Should she tell him?

"Well, they're pieces of someone's soul cased in a separate, physical object. Voldemort has seven of them." Draco didn't say anything. Hermione lifted her head up to see his grave expression.

"That doesn't exactly sound great…"

"No, it's not. That's why Voldemort didn't die the night he attacked Harry."

"Huh…that makes sense…" Hermione sighed and settled back into his arms. He held her tighter letting out an exhausted breath. "I should tell the Order."

"Oh please don't!" Draco looked down at her, again raising his eyebrows in concern. She didn't want the Order to know? What is wrong with her?

"And why shouldn't I?"

"Because Harry doesn't want them to know, it's his wishes and you should respect them."

"Hermione what are you talking about? I think you spent one too many months in that dungeon of mine." Hermione scoffed.

"Your right on that one, but my brain is still in tact thank you very much. Dumbledore left this for Harry to do. He was the only one that knew. The more people who know about it, the bigger chance that someone lets it slip; I'm going to trust you to keep your mouth shut." She said, her voice getting stronger and more commanding with each word. Draco smiled. If Hermione was giving him chance to prove himself to her, well he wasn't going to mess it up.

"You go it Hermione. I promise not to tell anyone, not even Blaise." Hermione nodded into his chest.

"Thank you." Oh the things he did for her.

"Hermione, go to sleep now." Hermione began to protest but Draco shushed her. "There'll be lots of time to be awake later, I promise. Sleep now. I'll be here when you wake up." Once again Hermione nodded and closed her eyes, pulling herself, if possible, even closer to Draco.

It felt good to have someone near her again. She had been so far away from humanity for so long that she forgot what it had been like to sleep with someone (Ron), she forgot what it was like to talk to people and have them hold her and touch her. It was such a new sensation again that she wanted to be close to anything right now. And so she cuddled up to Draco as she slept. He certainly didn't seem to have a problem with it.

And he didn't. The night he found Hermione curled up and broken in his basement changed his life forever. How could he let someone that he had, at one time, felt something for, perish like that. His feelings came back to him that night if almost like they had never disappeared in the first place and he had decided quickly that he was going to work his hardest to make sure that nothing happened to her again. Not while he was around.

Just then Hermione mumbled softly in her sleep.

"Draco…"


End file.
